Putting a Passion into Play

Dylan Alcott Foundation Scholarship

Support from international tennis champion and Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott AO, is bringing 19-year-old Michala Baldwin’s passion for speech pathology into play.

From a very young age, speech, language and linguistics have been a strength and passion for Michala.

“I started talking at just five months old, and by four I was reading novels to myself,” says Michala.

At school, she learned four languages – Japanese, German, Italian, and Korean – excelling in each.

“I constantly pondered the origins of language, including; how did we learn to use sounds to represent meanings? How did we agree on these meanings? How did our alphabet come to be?”

Catherine Wegener with Sarita Prabhakaran

Michala Baldwin

While Michala’s primary school teachers couldn’t answer her probing questions, she has since discovered the answers and much more while studying a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at Flinders University.

While managing her mental health and academic demands, Michala also faces financial strain, with the challenges of autism making it impossible for her to work while studying.

“My disability affects my ability to complete daily tasks that others might find simple,” says Michala. “The cognitive and social demands of university make it too exhausting to also work to support my study costs.”

The Dylan Alcott Foundation has generously donated $30,000 to support Michala’s tuition fees, in addition to $5,000 from Flinders University to support her day-to- day study costs.

International wheelchair tennis champion Dylan Alcott AO made history in 2021 by securing a Golden Slam – winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and an Olympic gold medal. In 2022 Dylan won the prestigious Australian of the Year Award and an Officer of the Order of Australia medal.

As a tireless advocate for disability awareness, since 2017 he has led the Dylan Alcott Foundation to support real change for Australians living with disability.

“We’re committed to helping young Australians with a disability to succeed and achieve their dreams,” says Dylan.

“Supporting Michala in her goal of becoming a speech pathologist is just one example of how we can empower young people to create real change.”

Michala is deeply grateful for the Dylan Alcott Foundation Scholarship and the life-changing opportunity it provides, including the chance for future independence.

“The scholarship for my tuition fees will ease my financial burden and significantly reduce my HECS debt.”

“This will allow me to move out of home sooner and achieve an independence that not all autistic people are fortunate enough to have,” says Michala.

The additional support from the University will help Michala achieve a full-time rural placement, covering bills and rent associated with living away from home.

“Words can’t express how thankful I am for this support. It has not only helped me personally, but will also have a lasting impact on the people I will help in my future practice as a clinical speech pathologist.”